


Our Two Hearts as One

by darktensh17



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Asphyxiation, M/M, Near Death Experiences, Stranded
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-28
Updated: 2017-01-28
Packaged: 2018-09-20 11:23:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,577
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9488867
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darktensh17/pseuds/darktensh17
Summary: Poe and Finn are stranded on a broken ship as they slowly lose air.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [beautifullights](https://archiveofourown.org/users/beautifullights/gifts).



> Written for the TFA king prompt:  
> "Poe and Finn are trapped on a broken ship in the middle of space. Either the air recyclers give out, the ship loses power, or they have to choose which systems to keep online and they eventually have to turn the air recyclers off.
> 
> For a while there's still enough air on the ship to breathe, but the ship's oxygen levels slowly decrease. Eventually Poe and Finn huddle together, knowing they're going to die---at least they can die in each other's arms. They talk and kiss and try to comfort each other as they slowly succumb to the lack of air.
> 
> BUT then they get rescued (by Rey?) and their rescuers drag them onto their ship and revive them and take them back to the Resistance and the medbay for a Happy Ending all around.
> 
> Bonus points for kissing! I'd also be very happy with a gen fic, or feel free to go for smut if that's your thing. Pre-relationship or established relationship, I'm happy either way. "

The attack came out of nowhere, shots hitting the ship and sending warnings blaring through the cockpit. 

“I can get us through this,” Poe shouts back to Finn, who’s currently manning the guns. “If you can get a few shots off to get them off our tails that would be great though!”

Finn grunts an acknowledgement and Poe can hear the sound of him cursing as he misses. Poe focuses instead on trying to get them away from the attacking ship, ignoring for the moment the very loud and insistent red lights going off on the dashboard in front of him. He’s still got control of the ship and that’s what matters right now. 

There’s another direct hit to the right side of the ship and Poe thinks _fuck it_ and decides to subscribe to the Han Solo method of hyperspace travel and hits, not bothering to put in any coordinates as he send them into hyperspace. At this point they’re either going to get blown to pieces by an attack or by coming out of hyperspace inside an asteroid belt or planet if they’re unlucky. Still, they have more chance of success with hyperspace travel.

It’s only once the proximity alarms stop going off that Poe takes a look at the state of the ship and curses loudly. 

“How bad is it?” Finn asks, coming up behind him and leaning on the pilot’s chair. He’s acting over-casual but Poe knows he’s worried him. 

“Cracked hull, we’ve lost most of the weapons systems, landing gear is totalled. . .” Poe lips his lips nervously, not wanting to read out the last warning on shuttle. “Oxygen has been hit. . .l-life support is failing.”

Finn is quiet for the longest time and Poe tries to focus on seeing if he can’t divert power from other areas of the ship, that maybe there’s some way he can stave off the inevitable. He almost wants to laugh because one of the few things that does seem to be functional is the distress beacon. 

Slowly he eases them out of hyper drive and laughs when they don’t immediately get blown to smithereens. (Although that may have been a better alternative than slowly asphyxiating to death.) There’s a small asteroid field not far and he lands the shuttle on one of the bigger rocks. 

“How long do we have?” Finn asks Poe suddenly, voice subdued. 

Poe looks back down at the alarm and calculates their best odds and worst. “Two hours, tops, if we shut down most of the extra systems and reroute the oxygen to this room only, and lower the output to the minimum possible.” Even as he speaks, Poe’s already doing just that; he wants to give them their best shot possible. They can feel the difference in the air immediately, breathing becoming just that much harder. 

In the back of his mind he’s wondering what the odds would be that he could take Finn out and lock him in a smaller room and divert the oxygen there. Doing so may give him an extra hour or two, hopefully giving him enough time to be rescued. Someone has go stay out here in case they get a message and Poe wouldn’t mind dying slowly if it means that Finn can live.

“Whatever you’re plotting right now, stop it.” Poe startles and looks up at Finn in shock. “I know you, flyboy. I know how self-sacrificing you are. If we’re going to die like this I want to do it together, and only because I know you won’t let me sacrifice myself either.” 

“Damn right I won’t!” He can’t refute Finn’s claim about his self-sacrificing thoughts and if they’re going to die at least they can be together in their last moments . . . that wouldn’t be so bad.

Finn’s hand squeezes Poe’s shoulder. “Is there any chance of rescue?” 

Poe nods, glad to have a temporary distraction if nothing else. “Our distress beacon is flashing loud and clear. There’s no guarantee a friendly face will pick it up or that someone will get here in time, but. . .well, we can hope, right?”

Hope and each other, those are really the only two things they have going for them right now. 

“Let’s take a look and see if there’s not something we can do before we give in to despair alright?” 

It’s better than waiting around for the inevitable. “Alright, let’s get to work then.” 

-

Half an hour later they call it quits. There’s no fixing the oxygen and no amount of burnt fingers and frustrated curses will change that. Poe feels the first real waves of helplessness as he falls back against the wall. Finn joins him moments later and Poe curls up against him. They’ve both become acclimatized to the lower oxygen levels but it does leave them feeling exhausted.

“I’m sorry,” Poe says suddenly, squeezing his eyes shut tightly like this is all his fault.

Finn’s hand goes to his hair, petting it comfortingly as Poe grabs Finn’s free hand. “What for?”

“For getting you into this hopeless mess; I should have gone on this mission alone like I was supposed to.” There are tears, helpless tears, gathering in Poe’s eyes. “Because of me you’re never going to experience all the life that there is out there. All the love. . .” 

The hand in Poe’s hair moves to cup his face, forcing Poe to look up into Finn’s soulful, dark eyes. “Poe, I would take these last two years by your side over a lifetime with anyone else.” 

A sob bubbles up from Poe’s chest and he throws himself into Finn’s arms. It doesn’t erase the guilt or the pain, but to know that Finn loves him that much is almost enough. Poe can feel Finn shaking from his own tears and he wants nothing more than to will them away because Finn should never have to be sad or afraid.

That’s how they remain for the longest time, curled up in each other’s arms offering and drawing comfort. Poe pulls away only enough to lean up and press his quivering lips to Finn’s, tasting the salt of his tears. Finn’s arms tighten around him as he returns the bittersweet kiss. 

Slowly they draw apart, with Poe pressing another kiss to Finn’s nose and then both if his cheeks. “Do you remember that time on Evra Prime?”

Finn raises an eyebrow, shifting and pulling Poe back into his arms. “That time where you almost offered to become a male escort, or the part where I fucked you against the window of our hotel room to show the entire city you were mine?”

Poe can feel himself blushing at the memory; that had been a particularly hot and unforgettable night. “Not exactly, but now at least I’ve got that memory playing in my head.” He elbows Finn in the side when the other man laughs. “I was thinking of the wedding ceremony we witnessed.’

“Yeah, I remember.” Poe can hear a smile in Finn’s voice. “It was a beautiful ceremony.” 

The wedding was simple, only a small group of what was likely close friends and family gathered together. It was the symbolism and sense of unity of the ceremony itself that had struck both Poe and Finn so strongly.

Poe grabbed the bottom of his shirt and tore a long strip of fabric off it. Holding one side of the strip, Poe took Finn’s hand with his other and began to weave the fabric between their wrists in a figure eight, or, more precisely, an infinity symbol. “May my life be intertwined with yours for all of our lives, forever, now, and until the end of time.”

Nervously, Poe holds the end of the makeshift ribbon out to Finn waiting with baited breath to see if Finn will accept it. When Finn reaches over and takes the ribbon with his free hand, Poe can feel his fingers trembling as they brush Poe’s own. 

Carefully, Finn continues wrapping their wrists together. “May our spirits soar together from this life to the next, and may our hearts never be parted.”

“One heart, one body, one soul, for now and all of eternity.” They finish together, gazing into each others eyes.

“I love you, Finn, now and forever.” 

Finn leans forward and carefully claims Poe’s lips in a chaste kiss. “I love you, Poe Dameron, forever and always.”

This time their kiss is more than just a brush of the lips, it’s desperate and full of sorrow. It’s a kiss of new lives, a promise, and a goodbye all at once. Poe’s heart feels like it is being ripped from his chest and he knows that Finn must be feeling the same way.

The alarms warning about their oxygen supply being critically low causes them to jerk apart and Poe stands on shaky legs once they’ve unwound the ribbon between them to go and see what the verdict is. 

“Half an hour, and that’s only if we try and conserve our oxygen. Limited movement, and we shouldn’t talk unless we have to.” He looks at the communicator in hopes that there’s a message waiting there to tell them that help is coming. There is nothing, and any hope Poe has been holding on to evaporates.

Finn doesn’t say anything to the grim news, instead he holds out his hand for Poe to come join him once again on the floor. “It won’t be so bad, Poe, we’ll curl up together and close our eyes. It will be just like falling asleep.” Finn touches their foreheads together, gazing into Poe’s eyes. “We’ll be together every step of the way.”

Helpless and at a loss of what to say, Poe instead rearranges himself so he’s lying on the floor, pulling Finn down with him and the curling up to him. He takes Finn’s hands in his own, giving each a kiss. “I’m not afraid of what’s beyond this life as long as I’m with you.”

“It’s going to be great,” Finn reassures him, making himself comfortable and entwining his legs with Poe’s. “I know it will be.”

Poe’s not so sure, but he wants to believe in Finn’s words. He knows that Jedi who are strong in the Force come back as Force Ghosts but normal people like he and Finn don’t have the Force. The next step is a mystery to them.

He wonders if he’ll see his mother there. Hopefully she’ll love Finn as much as Poe does. There’s a brief pang in his heart as he thinks about his father back on Yavin IV, all alone. _Sorry Papa._

Soon enough, Poe finds his eyes getting heavy, the sound of the alarm becoming no more than just a background noise. Instead he listens only to the sound of his and Finn’s own breaths mingling slowly. Distantly, he realizes that he’s beginning to get cold but he can’t find the energy to get up and find an emergency blanket to wrap around them both.

“Poe,” Finn’s voice is weak and barely above a whisper. “I’m scared.”

Swallowing back more tears, Poe presses himself as close to Finn as he can mange, wanting no more space between them. “Me too, buddy, but we’re together just like you said and that’s all that matters.” He wants to say more but it’s getting too hard to form words, his chest is aching and suddenly he can’t even hear Finn’s voice anymore. Soon his eyes are falling shut and all he has left is the feeling of Finn pressed tightly against him, and eventually even that sensation fades away.

-

Poe wakes with a great gulp of air and panics when he realizes not only is he strapped down but there’s something in his throat. Desperately, he tries to free himself and grab at whatever is in his throat. 

Soon there are hands on him holding him down and someone is speaking to him calmly. “Commander, I need you to calm down so that I can remove the respirator tube. You’re in medbay and the tube was to help you breathe.” Poe stills and the person he recognizes as Doctor Kalonia speaks to him again. “There we go; I’m going to pull out the tube now, so just keep relaxed.”

The sensation of the tube being removed isn’t pleasant and Poe reminds himself to never get himself in a situation that would require it ever again. Coughing, he looks around in confusion, memory still fuzzy. “W-what happened?” His voice comes out raspy and the pain from speaking causes him to cough harshly. 

Doctor Kalonia hands him a small cup with a blue liquid in it which she instructs Poe to swallow. It’s vile but it does ease the pain in Poe’s throat. “You and Finn were found on your shuttle unconscious and almost completely asphyxiated, by Rey and Chewy. They were able to administer basic medical treatment before rushing you both back here.”

The mention of Finn has Poe trying to bolt up out of the bed once again. “Finn! Where is he? Is he okay?” 

He gets pushed to lie back down on the bed by Doctor Kalonia, whose voice remains patient and soothing as she answers his questions. “Finn is fine. He woke up yesterday and we removed his breathing tube. He’s recovering in a private room which we will move you into once we’ve given you a full check-up, alright?”

As much as Poe wants to go right to Finn he nods his consent. It wouldn’t do to undo all the work the doctors have done to keep him alive and help him heal. Once he’s given a clean bill of health, aside from taking it easy and a small inhaler in case he had trouble breathing, Poe is moved into the same room as Finn.

Finn is fast asleep and Poe itches to crawl into bed with him, which he does as soon as the doctors leave the room. It takes more work than Poe would care to admit to move the few feet between their beds, but it’s worth it.

“Looks like we made it buddy.” Poe tells his unconscious lover, or is it husbands now? He wonders, thinking back to their private ceremony on the crippled ship. He’ll have to ask Finn when he wakes, along with asking him properly if he’ll accept Poe’s hand in marriage. Sighing in relief, Poe kisses Finn’s cheek and the moves to kiss his lips. He’s surprised when he feels Finn’s mouth move against his own, but he doesn’t pull away.

Even so, they do eventually need to part for air, and when they do they spend a moment communicating with just their eyes. Finally, Finn smiles and Poe lets out a surprised sound when Finn pulls him tight against his body. “We made it, husband of mine.” The smile he offers Poe is so radiant that Poe wonders if he’s been blinded.

“We sure did husband, and we’re going to keep surviving together.” There are so many more things that Poe wants to say, but for now he settles on the classic. “I love you, Finn Dameron.”

Finn’s smile turns up several watts. “And I love you too, Poe Dameron. Now and forever.”

Now and forever, Poe thinks as he curls up with Finn, glad that their ‘now’ isn’t over just yet. Forever can wait just a little while for a little longer, as can ‘til death do us part.’


End file.
